Hi all I just bought a p26 hull no# 410 in October. I was aware of the rudder corrosion problem but had to get the boat to the marina to hall it. Yep, lost the rudder while crossing the York River. I just got the new rudder from D&R yesterday. The UPS guy was having a fit trying to figure out what was wrapped up in cardboard and weighed 85 lbs. :p I am going to install as soon as I get some warm weather. Not that I am afraid of the cold, but I want to do the bottom paint while I have it out of the water.
Wish me luck.
Joe

jdeatsch

01-13-2011 07:06 PM

Excellent Joe,

I bet you're gonna love your new boat.

We are the proud owners of a P-30 and plan to take her south in a couple of years.

Tropics here we come.

Jim

KindOfBlue

01-13-2011 07:41 PM

You'll need to have it warmer because I think that you'll need to dig a hole to install the rudder.

KindOfBlue

01-13-2011 07:48 PM

There is a great p26 site out there too with step by step instructions on how to do some of the common repair jobs (including rudder work). You may already be aware, but in case you aren't.

deniseO30

01-13-2011 08:08 PM

Very nice boat! I nearly bought the one in my YC a few years ago. You may want to barrier coat the new rudder while it's bare gelcoat. also seal with 5200 where the post enters the top. Anything you can do to stop water intrusion.

beaufait

01-14-2011 11:16 AM

Thanks

that sounds like good advise. I'll do that. I can put on the barrier coat in my garage while I am waiting for the weather to get warm enough to do the bottom paint on the rest of the boat. Cukote requires at least 50 degrees and the long range forecast doesn't show that for the rest of the month.

beaufait

01-14-2011 11:24 AM

Hey Kind Of Blue, I hadn't thought about that but you have to be right. The rudder is large enough that it is almost as deep as the keel and I have to drop it down at least a couple of feet to insert the shaft. Man the things you don't think of. I have a trenching shovel, so I can dig only a few inches wide. Still, I hadn't even begun to plan for that when I was figuring out my to do list.

ne57301

01-20-2011 09:15 PM

You got new rudder bushings from D&R too, right?
When you dig your hole, dig further aft than you think you need to ;)

beaufait

01-24-2011 09:27 AM

Bushings

Yep the bushings were included. It should be at these prices but I love having the original part. :D

beaufait

03-24-2011 09:17 AM

p26 my vacation

I took 2 weeks off of work with the weather turning nice to get all of the maintenance done on our new to us p26. We bought the boat in OCT of last year and it has been too cold to bottom paint since then so this is the first chance I have had to do any real work. We dropped the mast at haul out and I was able to replace the lights, (both of which were shot) and the halyards. I spliced the rope to the wire halyards myself. It took 2 hours a piece because I am a rank newbie but in the end they looked very professional.
When we pulled her there was a coating of barnacles a full 2" thick all over the bottom of the boat. The bodies came off quickly but we spent 3 days scraping the little feet off. Then 2 days of sanding and finally paint. The yard noticed some separation in the keel as we were scraping so I replaced and re potted all of the keel bolts with stainless. I plugged the holes and faired the joint with west system. Finally we replaced the rudder with a new DR marine unit, renamed her Janna's Dance and launched yesterday.
She moves very easily through the water. When I brought her over from Seaford it took all the motor would do to get 2 knots. Now, at idle I am moving to fast to dock by myself. I can't wait to get under sail. The weather that was so cooperative during my vacation has decided that I have to wait for our first sail. I guess I will spend my time replacing the rest of the running rigging and dreaming of sunny days.:)